Road-drag.



F. BOEGKMANN.

ROAD DRAG. APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1909.

WLMEQ, Patented Sept. 27, 1910.

grwenfoz UNITED @TATb PATENT FRANK BOECKIVIANN, 0F BAR'IELSO, ILLINOIS.

ROAD-DRAG.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK BOECKMAN'N, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bartelso, in the county of Clinton and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Road-Drag, of which the following is aspecification.

The objects of the invention are, generally, the provision, in amerchantable form, of a device of the class above mentioned, which shallbe inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation, and devoid ofcomplicated parts; specifically, the provision of a road drag providedwith a board and with pivoted runners rearwardly extended therefrom, thedraft rigging being assembled with the runners, the pivotal unionbetween the runners and the board permitting the runners to stand at alltimes in parallelism with the draft line, the parallelism between therunners and the draft line being promoted by the direct attachment ofthe draft rigging to the runners; other and further objects being mademanifest hereinafter as the description of the invention progresses.

The invention consists in the novel con struction and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described, delineated in the accompanying drawings,and particularly pointed out in that portion of this instrument whereinpatentable novelty is claimed for certain peculiar and distinctivefeatures of the device, it being understood that, within the scope ofwhat hereinafter thus is claimed, divers changes in the form,proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be madewithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective and Fig. 2 is a transverse section, partsbeing in elevation.

In carrying out my invention I provide, primarily, a board, of anysuitable material, which is denoted by the numeral 1. Pivotally mountedupon the rear face of the board 1 and rearwardly extending therefrom,are spaced runners 4, adapted to contact with the earth, and to spacethe lower edge of the board 1 slightly above the same, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 8, 1909.

Patented Sept. 27?, 1%1Q. Serial No. 506,593.

board being provided, upon its forward face, and along its lower edge,with a depending scraper 6, which may be so assembled with the board asto cut into the earth to the required distance. The pivotal unionbetween the board and the runners is procured by means of a series ofeyes 2 inserted trans versely of the board into its rear face, and aseries of eyes 3, which are mounted in the forward ends of the runnersat, rods 5 being passed through the eyes 2 and 3.

Upstanding from the runners 4 are spaced pins 7, adapted to register inelongated open ings 9 in the extremities of braces 8, whereby the freeends of the runners 4 are maintained at a fixed distance apart. Theopenings 9 in the braces permit the runners to have a slight play whenthe device is in operation, and the braces 8 are adapted to constitute aplatform upon which the operator may stand if desired.

Owing to the fact that the runners a are pivotally assembled with theboard 1, the said runners stand at all times in parallelism with thedraft line, and this, whether the board 1 be at right angles to thedraft line, or at an acute angle thereto. By this construction, when theboard 1 stands at an acute angle to the draft line, the runners i willnot remain at right angles to the board, a contingency greatlyincreasing the draft. The draft rigging is directly assen'ibled with therunners, and the nature of this draft rigging is such that the runnersof necessity remain in the line of the draft. In the present instance,the draft rigging consists of beams or goose-necks 10, the rear ends ofwhich are rigidly assembled with the runners t, the intermediateportions 11 of the beams being unbent, to space the same verticallyapart from the upper edge of the board, the forward extremities of thebeams being down-bent to depend in front of the board 1. The forwardextremities 12 of the beams may terminate in hooks 14;, or otherelements adapted to a like end, whereby the draft animals may beconnected with the device.

Owing to the peculiar shape given to the beams 10, and owing to theirmethod of attachment with the device, the drag will have a smooth andeven draft and any tendency upon the part of the same to dig into theearth to an undesirable extent, or to overturn in the direction of thedraft line will be obviated.

Owing to the fact that the braces 8 are connected by the simple pin andslot union with the runners be lifted from the runners, the runnersbeing then folded into parallelism with the board 1, to dispose thedevice in small compass. The pin and slot connection between the braces8 and the runners l, moreover, enables each of said runners to have aslight movement independently of its fellow, so that, should one of thesaid runners strike an obstacle, the runner thus encountering theobstacle may move laterally a short distance, to clear the same, withoutpulling the other runner into parallelism. This construction enables therunner which is engaged by the obstruction to clear the same, withoutincreasing the draft of the device by pulling the other runner laterallyout of parallel relation with respect to the draft line.

4:, the braces may readily Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to protect, by Let ters Patent, is

A device of the class described including a board arranged to serve as ascraper; upright runners; means for individually pivoting the runners atone end to the board; a brace resting terminally upon the runners; therebeing a pin and slot connection between the brace and the runners,whereby the runners may have limited movement at their free ends, inopposite directions; the brace being arranged to be freely lifted fromthe runners; and a goose neck connected to each runner and extended tothe front of the board, out of contact with the board.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK BOECKMANN. W itnesses CLEMENS STROTHMANN, PETER EACH.

